Office Furniture Installation Blog

Businesses of all sizes, from small firms to large enterprises, are constantly in search of ways to increase employee productivity. And to that end, it is common for businesses to invest in technology, training, and various talent management initiatives to get their people to dig deeper, work smarter, and contribute a little (or in some cases a lot) more.

However, there is one very simple way that could measurably increase employee productivity literally within hours, yet is often overlooked because, well, it’s just TOO simple: raising the temperature during winter.

According to Sperling’s BestPlaces.net, not only is St. Louis (of course!) a best place to live and work, but it receives about 15 inches of snow each year. And while this is well below the 26 inches of snow that the average US city gets per year, as those of us who call this part of the country home know all too well, those 15 can come down fast and furious.

When it comes to planning an office relocation, your leadership team is likely focusing on aspects like space utilization, power and cooling systems, phone and computer cabling, and so on.

Naturally, all of these are critical pieces of your office relocation plan. However, there are other important issues as well. To ensure that you aren’t blindsided by something that should have been mapped out weeks or even months before, here are 5 important – yet sometimes overlooked -- things to keep in mind:

For a variety of reasons, office moves take place every day throughout the year – including holidays. For example, some businesses decide to change addresses because their lease is expiring, because they need to get closer to customers, because they’re current location is too big or too small, and the list goes on.

Generally however, there are relatively fewer office moves in the “dead of winter”. This is not necessarily because of the frigid temperatures, or potential for difficult road or weather conditions that result in the office move taking a little bit longer (we’re talking hours here, not days or weeks -- this is not Little House on the Prairie after all!). Rather, it is often because some businesses find it more efficient and practical to move when some of their employees are on vacation, and that usually happens in the summer months.

1. Cost Overruns

When the numbers are crunched, an amateur FF&E installation company is not just likely to exceed the estimated cost: it’s a foregone conclusion. This is because amateurs are notorious for offering as little as possible, and tacking on a variety of extra fees.

But really, is this a surprise? Yes, it’s one thing for an FF&E installation company to offer a price that may be (for example) 5-10% or so lower than a competitor. But when the difference is 30%-50% or more, it really begs the question: “Where is the savings coming from?” The answer is that the savings are an illusion – and the trick is played on the customer, as it always it. Some sage and timeless advice from 19th century social thinker John Ruskin is appropriate:

Regardless of whether you’re moving your business across the street, city, state or country, the fact remains that you want your office relocation experience to be as streamlined, efficient and stress-free as possible.

And while there are several factors and elements that are part of this fundamental goal – the most important of which is choosing the right office relocation company – it’s also a good idea to brush up on your “contract lingo”, so that you can avoid any misunderstandings or unwelcome surprises before, during or after your move.

Here are some key terms that you should be familiar with before you sign on the dotted line (or perhaps click your digital e-signature!).

While it can be an exiting chapter in your business’s evolving story, the fact remains that an office relocation is a major step -- and one that, it goes without saying, you should not make lightly.

To help you make a smart and successful decision, the Precision team asked several of our customers about the issues they deemed the most important when they were considering an office relocation. Here are the top 4 factors they shared:

Much like houses, offices can be loaded with surplus office furniture, such as unallocated or broken chairs, workstations, cubicles, and the list goes on. Naturally, for years everyone has been too busy focusing on day-to-day tasks to pay attention to these items. But now that it’s time to head to a new location, there’s no more room to kick the proverbial can. After all, the last thing you want to do is spend money and waste time moving surplus furniture that, yet again, is just going to take up space.

To help you resolve this situation in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible, here are your options for dealing with surplus office furniture:

When it comes to an office relocation, many businesses focus on their new space and getting it ready for their employees, equipment, furniture, technology and so on. Obviously, all of this is necessary to ensure that the move is streamlined and efficient. However, there is another piece of the office relocation puzzle that is just as important, yet is often overlooked because it is not about the new space at all: it is about the soon-to-be old space.

Specifically, businesses need to have an office space decommission plan to ensure that they properly remove furniture, equipment, FFE, and other all items that aren’t making the move. Indeed, simply leaving them behind for the landlord or property manager is not an option. Businesses that neglect this aspect of their office relocation stand to lose their deposit, plus they may be liable for additional costs that could easily run into the thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars.

In the distant past, the notion of having a “safe and secure office move” typically referred to physical security; i.e. ensuring that furniture, equipment, and other assets were protected during the move to prevent theft or loss, or having a security team on patrol for evening or weekend moves to keep everyone safe.

However, while physical security is still a piece of the office move puzzle, these days there is another critical problem that all businesses must solve as part of their relocation: how to protect and secure sensitive data. Below, we highlight 3 best practices to achieve this essential objective.